Over the past few months, I’ve sadly had to write a fair few sympathy cards and attend a handful of funerals. This has got me thinking about the language we use to express our condolences and whether there are ever enough words – or the right words – to express our feelings.

For the past five years, my mobile phone provider has been misspelling my name. It’s not a big deal; they have retained my business and have seen me through a couple of upgrades. But that usurping ‘B’ at the end of my surname – still present after several attempts of stressing that, actually, it’s ‘V’ for Victor – never fails

Greg Dyke, Chairman of the Football Association, tells us that grassroots football is in crisis. He’s probably right, although I did long ago conclude that pretty much everything I care about is in a perpetual state of crisis and that, unless you can afford to employ a Professional Worrier, you’re best just getting on with things, and que sera sera…

Matt Rogers has done a lovely animation of Stephen Fry’s thoughts on language and pedants taken from one of his podcasts.

I’ve always enjoyed, if that’s the right word, visits to London’s Imperial War Museum, and not just because it’s free, though that helps.

Guy Keleny wrote in Saturday’s Independent about the misuse of the phrase ‘beg the question’. His advice was simple – don’t use it because the meaning you’re after will almost certainly be ‘raise the question’, and begging the question isn’t the same thing at all.